Tying Tuesday: Bass Flies and Dry Flies

This week’s Tying Tuesday features one of my all-time favorite flies, a new smallmouth pattern that’ll work well for trout, and some tips on picking and sizing dry-fly hackle. With spring creeping ever closer, I reckon most of us could use the refresher on the Klinkhåmer, and picking and sizing hackle.

Davie McPhail’s videos—and flies—are some of the best available, but I’m particularly impressed with his high-vis Klinkhåmer. Davie uses this fly as the first in a dry-dropper setup, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t work well on its own, either.

Dry-Dropper Klinkhåmer Special
Hook: Fulling Mill Czech Nymph Hook, size 14.
Thread: Gray, 8/0 or 70-denier.
Rib: Clear Mylar, small.
Body and Thorax: Dark Hare’s Ear UV Euro Nymph Flash Dub.
Wing: Ultra Dry Yarn, white and pink.

Up next is a fly from a channel we’ve never featured on MidCurrent before. Kypes & Stripes Outdoors shows us how to tie a smallmouth bug that looks similar to a Pat’s Rubberlegs. This is called the Trust Me Dude SBS, and it looks plenty buggy for use on both bass and trout.

Trust Me Dude SBS
Hook: 2X-long nymph hook, size 6.
Weight: Lead tape.
Thread: Brown, 6/0 or 140-denier.
Rear Legs: Watermelon-and-red rubber legs.
Body: Olive Tinsel Chenille, large.
Legs: Watermelon-and-red rubber legs (2 sets).
Back and Tail: Gold Krystal Flash, medium.
Head: Tying thread.
Adhesive: Head cement.

Rounding out this week’s Tying Tuesday is a video I wish had been around when I started tying. I never knew how to size hackle, so my earliest flies looked awful. The proportions were all wrong, and the fish didn’t like them. The folks at Mad River Outfitters put together this excellent, short video that’ll help you learn how to properly size your dry-fly hackle.